With sweeping South-Easterly views of the Sunshine Coast Hinterland through to the ocean, this substantial renovation sought to create an open, anchored celebration of the natural environment.

Warm timber cladding, designed to soften and age over time, envelops the main house in a reference to the site.

This emphasis on neutral and natural continues internally, prioritising sight lines and dynamic spaces for family, guests and entertaining.

A process in restoring an existing building into a timeless home.

With the clients looking to build and sell the brief was to create a home that would appeal as a high-end holiday home that captured the coastal lifestyle that draws people to Noosa

The proposed concept was to retain as much of the existing structural elements of the existing building and keep the extension of the footprint as tight as possible. This idea was to reduce the consumption of materials, retain the existing mature trees and create outdoor living spaces.

The form of the building wasn’t designed to be in fashion with the latest trends and took reference from mid-century modern detailing, with the hope of giving the building a longer life cycle.

Development by: Beyond property developments

Photography by: Soda photography

A Large scale and highly detailed signal residence designed to sprawl over a large waterfront site.

As repeat clients, an existing mutual trust and respect helped the design process to naturally evolve.

The brief was to create a narrow balancing point of open social expanses and more intimate personal spaces which was achieved through obscuring view lines, operable screening systems and material selection. The clients were also looking for change in the way Queensland summers were often spoilt by unbearable heat and the dry air of conventional air conditioning. This pushed the detailing toward more traditional Queensland design elements: extensive summer shadowing, natural breezeways and an underground low energy cooling system which allows the house to breathe. These details also prevented the rich, natural material palette from becoming unwanted thermal mass.

Suburban beach house

Located in the middle of suburban Noosa, this low set design was intended to break the module of its surrounding neighbourhood without being the elephant in the room.

With influences from mid-century modern architecture and the classic Australian beach houses. The design uses a minimal material pallet of blond Australian hardwoods, natural stone and weatherboard cladding.

Designed with holiday-makers in mind, this project sought to maximise the enjoyment and functionality of a prime Sunshine Beach location.

By reorienting pivotal areas such as the master bedroom and the kitchen, and using joinery as a fluid integration between ensuite and bedroom, volume and light were introduced to create a more appropriate aspect.

Graphic stone, concealed cladded doors and large expanses of glazing further support the luxurious yet effortless holiday lifestyle.

A practice in timeless design and a relaxed lifestyle.

The client brief was for a simple yet unique three bedroom house, with a focus on entertaining that blurred the threshold between the indoor and outdoor spaces whilst still creating close family areas.

The proposed design responded to the brief by using a suspended concrete first floor slab, cantilevered over round concrete columns that allowed the ground floor to be predominantly wrapped in glass sliding doors, whilst the upper floor was a compact layout of private bedrooms and a small secluded reading space.     

Meeting the market.

The design was part of a marketing campaign for the sale of a small batch land release. The Sunshine Coast site had been redeveloped from a DA-approved high-density unit development into a handful of large waterfront sites. The brief was to illustrate a design that would showcase the potential of the 3,000m2 sites and the sub-tropical lifestyle of the Sunshine Coast. The campaign successfully sold every site.        

An 1800’s workers cottage renovation.

The clients were specifically drawn to the heritage cottages found in Brisbane and bought an 1800’s workers cottage with the vision to transform it into a space that would be tailored to their family’s lifestyle and taste.

The design aim was to retain and restore all original elements of the cottage, while emphasising the character of the existing material and detail.

A collaboration with a small development company

The project was designed to influence change within the standards of suburban development.

The site’s steep embankment led to the house being partially cut into the site, creating ease of access, split living and graduating proportions to reflect the site.

The finished project succeeded in raising the standard for design and construction in the area, and expanded the profile of the development company.